A Little Broken
by Apprentice Writer
Summary: Because broken things go best together.


**Well here goes my first attempt at a shipping fic. I don't know how I managed to write this when I could manage the next chapter of the fic I should be focussing on. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this.**

**Good bye to my reputation as a shipless writer.**

* * *

Red's mother always told him for every talent you had, you had an equal drawback. An exceptional artist had to give up something for their skills. These were words the boy lived by. After all, he was living proof.

From the time the boy was young, he could understand Pokémon. That he couldn't understand their language, he just understood them. He knew better than to poke and prod them like the other children. He knew better than to touch a Pikachu's cheeks. Nobody had to teach him. He just knew these things. He was proud of his skills. Of course, there was a draw back.

For all he could understand Pokémon, he couldn't understand humans. From the time he started school, he found himself left out. All the other children thought he was weird. He, in turn, thought they were weird. So what if Red wouldn't make eye contact? To a Pokémon, that was a sign of aggression. The other kids mocked him for thinking he was a Pokémon, but he didn't mind. He didn't understand how that was an insult.

His mother was the only human he really got along with. Even then, he didn't really understand her. He didn't get why she always looked so sad when she picked him up from school. It never occurred to him that she felt pity for him. For all her trying, it had become clear that Red didn't belong in an occupation that didn't involve Pokémon.

There was only one possible path for such a boy. He had to become a trainer. After some begging, he convinced his mother to ask the local Professor to allow him to begin his Pokémon journey. She wasn't sure if he was ready, but the boy was legally of age. In fact, he was two years over the legal age. Trainers could leave home as early as ten to begin their journey, but his mother made him wait until he was twelve.

No Pokémon could understand Red like the Charmander that the Professor gave him. They just meshed perfectly. The trainer would have been happy to stay with this little Pokémon forever, even if he was the only one. The trials of a Pokémon trainer were too difficult for the boy to get through with only one member of his team, so he caught two more Pokémon.

Bulbasaur and Squirtle were good friends too. They would never be as close to him as his first Pokémon, but he grew to love them. The three of them would travel over the land and collect all the badges they could.

Nothing compared to the thrill of a battle. Red became enthralled by them. As time passed, he stopped thinking of his home. If there were no battles in that peaceful town, then he didn't want to go back to there. This was only the beginning of the rift between the Trainer and his home.

Through his journey, Red was able to find a person he truly understood. His name was Green. He was more like a Pokémon than a person. Though they had known each other from childhood and were apparently rivals, Red never gave him much thought until the first time they fought. It was without a doubt one of the most eye opening experiences of his life.

Nothing beat a good battle with Green. The other trainer was as skilled as Red, as smart as Red, and understood Pokémon also as well as Red. As far as the hatted trainer was concerned, this meant they should continue to battle each other forever.

Green and Red battled several times after their first fight. They fought and fought, tearing their way across Kanto. Despite being nearly evenly matched, Green never managed to defeat Red. The trainer couldn't understand why. His pride stopped him from asking. He didn't want to think of the possibility that he could be defeated.

The more powerful he became and the more people he fought, the more Red started to despair over the state of humanity. Though he met many kind trainers, the memory of the cruel trainers overshadowed them. Team Rocket was the worst. They seemed to think it was okay to use their Pokémon like tools. They thought it was okay to harm and even kill Pokémon. Red hated them from the bottom of his soul. The memory of them changed the way he thought of every battle.

After defeating the Elite Four, Red faced his rival once more. His view of the world had changed since they lost fought. This battle was no longer fun. It was a war and Red hated it. Green was nearly his equal, but he would never surpass Red. Finally, the trainer understood why. Green would never understand his Pokémon like Red did.

The victory was bitter sweet. Red wanted nothing to do with this League or his fellow trainer now. Without consulting Green on his views, Red decided what the other both must think. After registering his Pokémon and himself as the Champions, the trainer left the League, never to return.

He could no longer go home. He couldn't stand to be in such a peaceful place. His mind was filled with battle now. He didn't want to challenge another League and see the horrors of that land either. Red decided it was best to be alone. With that in mind, he climbed up Mt. Silver, and decided never to come down.

* * *

Lucas' mother had always said it was alright to be gentle. Though people said that boys should be strong and adventurous, the boy never went far from home. His mother said that Claus must have taken all the adventure for both of them. It was a happy thought to Lucas.

As far as he was concerned, he and his twin were two halves of the same person. Claus came into the world first and had the passion for adventure. He loved to fight and explore. Sometimes he got into a little trouble from being too reckless, but as long as Lucas was there, they could never get into too much trouble. Lucas was the opposite of his brother. He was the one that made sure that Claus never strayed too far. He was the calm mind. However, he lacked courage. This caused him to trail behind his brother. Claus was always there to hold his hand, though. Or at least he was, until everything fell apart.

The one time that Lucas' role was absolutely necessary, he failed in it. He couldn't convince his reckless brother to say home with him, to stay where it's safe. They'd just lost their mother. Lucas couldn't even begin to pull himself back together. Til the day he dies, the blond will regret the fact he couldn't stop his brother from tracking down the beast that killed their mother.

Now Lucas was alone. For three years, he barely left his house. He left for food, and a few times to look for Claus. One of those times allows him to stumble upon a group under attack. He asked his Drago friends to protect them. If it hadn't been for that one choice, he would have never gone on his journey. Such a small thing could change everything.

Three years after his brother disappeared, Lucas was confused for the Commander of the Pig Mask army. He had no choice but to go to the Thunder Tower. It was at this point, he knew he could not turn back to his old life. So he went and discovered something his didn't want to. He came face to face with the real Commander. Something in his stomach sat wrong from the moment he saw that boy's masked face.

The journey continued, and somehow Lucas gained the label of the chosen boy, the Needle Puller. He had no choice but to travel over the island and pull all the needles and release the Dark Dragon before the Commander of the Pig Masks did. Some of these needle pulling incidents forced him to see the Commander again. Every time he did, the bad feeling in his gut showed up.

At the sight of the sixth needle, Lucas realized why the Commander could pull the needles as well. They had the same signature PSI, PK Love. It was something so unique to Lucas that he never imagined anyone else could use it. But the Commander's PSI felt so empty and the instant that Lucas felt it, he couldn't help but pity the masked boy.

After the fight, Lucas thought of the strange masked boy more and more. He let himself go into auto pilot and think of the boy for hours. The Commander was very much like him. They were the same age, had the same build, and what Lucas could see of his face looked very similar to his own. The blond had even started thinking of the boy as his dark reflection. He obsessed and obsessed over the other boy. Even then, he was unable to grasp the horrible truth until it was too late.

Somehow he always knew. He knew the Commander could be nobody but Claus, but he couldn't accept it. He wouldn't even let the thought form. When his father had finally come right out and said it, it broke the blond's heart. The boy could hardly stand the journey through the rest of the cave. Finally, he reached the man who had controlled his brother, the Pig King, Porky. The fury of the man calling his twin a thing was the only thing that got Lucas through the battle. Even then, he couldn't get his revenge.

He hated the king for what he did, but the king had hidden away in an impenetrable barrier. Lucas had no choice but to move on. He hurried to the final battle, to stop his brother from making a huge mistake. They could still be a family. Things didn't turn out that way. Claus couldn't remember his brother. They fought, and fought until they were both coated in Lucas' blood. The blond couldn't stand to hurt his twin.

The biggest pain of all came from the betrayal. Lucas' mother of all people, even in her ghostly form, had been trying to stop the fight. In the end, she had no choice but to ask Claus to come with her, to die and keep Lucas safe. Claus had only just stopped fighting. Lucas didn't understand what his mother was doing. He couldn't understand that the stop was only temporary. Claus couldn't fight his programming.

So Claus took his life and died in Lucas' arms. The blond boy's mind went into auto pilot again. The next thing he knew, he was pulling the needle. The world slowly came to an end around him. As quickly as it ended, it started again. A fresh new world for them. But the Dragon didn't understand how the human world was. It gave them a fresh, new world without the slightest hint of technology. Humans could barely live under those conditions. Because of that, Lucas was treated as a villain.

So he ran away. He ran to the highest mountain he could find and stayed there. He refused to come out until his brother returned to him. Only the Dark Dragon could find him. It whispered words of comfort, hoping to pull the boy out of his shell. It didn't work. Finally, in a last ditch effort to comfort the blond, he sent him to a new world, in hopes that someone there could make him happy.

* * *

Someone had stolen two of Red's Pokémon. Only the quick Squirtle had managed to escape their grips. Red would go to the ends of the earth to keep his Pokémon safe. He chased the kidnappers into a rift across dimensions. It was there he stumbled across the blond boy.

After he saved the boy, he expected them to part ways, but they didn't. The little blond followed him, despite all his efforts to get the boy to stop. It came as a surprise to him that the blond was actually very strong. He didn't have Pokémon fight for him. He did it himself. The trainer found this admirable. He wasn't as good a as Pokémon, though. Red always made sure the blond boy knew this.

As they travelled together, Red grew fonder and fonder of the blond boy. Somehow he'd become part of Red's team, like a fourth Pokémon. It came as a surprise to the trainer that he actually craved the blond's presence, just at the blond craved his. Sometimes he had the urge to throw a ball at the boy and make him part of the team for good. No, he couldn't catch humans, no matter how much he liked having this particular one around.

* * *

In the new world, Lucas met Claus again. The boy said he name wasn't Claus. He said it was Ness, but the blond wouldn't be tricked. It didn't matter that his brother looked different now, or even that he didn't remember him. That amazing power, that adventurous spirit, the bravery… How could he be anyone but Claus?

There was no way in hell that Lucas was going to let the newly released pig king hurt his brother again. For the first time in forever, Lucas and "Claus" fought side by side. They took down Porky. However, that wasn't the end of it. Some foul man took Lucas' twin again. Even worse, he had the gull to turn him into some object. The blond couldn't fight his body. He fled from the scene of the crime. He intended to come back. He would free Claus someday.

It was then that he met the dull eyed boy. They didn't exchange names. They both knew what they wanted. The dull eyed boy couldn't fight on his own, so he used chimera called Pokémon to fight for him. Lucas didn't mind though. The dull eyed boy was very strong. Lucas was sure if he stayed with this boy, he'd get his chance to rescue his brother. So they stayed together.

* * *

After the creature that caused Red's separation from his Pokémon was defeated, the master of this land decided to host a massive tournament. He invited all the people that helped bring the monster down to participate. Though Red would normally have avoided such a large gathering of people, he just couldn't make himself go home.

He wanted to stay with the blond boy. He liked the blond. He thought of him as a member of the team and there was no way that Red was going to let him go. The blond boy, Lucas, wasn't going to slip away so easily. It was the first time in a very long time that he met a human that he liked so much. Though he knew it couldn't be forever, Red wanted to be by him, so he stayed.

The tournament was alright. He got to meet some very nice Pokémon, namely Lucario and a Pikachu. The Jigglypuff was nice was well, but a little distant. They were his only friend here besides Lucas. Sometimes, someone else would try to talk to them, but the trainer always managed to scare them off somehow. He liked it when it was just him and Pokémon. Lucas was as good as a Pokémon in his books anyway.

* * *

"Claus" insisted on being called Ness in public, but that was okay with Lucas. He didn't care what his brother want to be called. In private, "Claus" let Lucas call him by his name. For some reason, he always looked to Lucas with sad eyes. The blond didn't understand why, but he didn't care. He was happy as long as he could be with his brother.

Sometimes the black haired twin would get mad, though. He would say he wasn't Claus, that he was Ness. At his worst, he'd lash out at Lucas and try to get him to see logic. Lucas was far too gone to be saved from his delusion. He'd just sit there in silence until "Claus" apologised. Then the whole fight would be forgotten.

Tonight the fight had been more intense that it had ever been before. The end of the tournament was approaching. Lucas had begged "Claus" to come home with them, so they could see their father again. But the other boy just looked sad and confused. He said he had to go home to his mother. At those words, Lucas had flown into a rage and walked out.

He didn't have anywhere to go but to Red. The trainer was always willing to accept the blond when he was upset. That wasn't often, though. It was normally "Claus" that comforted Lucas after a nightmare. He only went to Red with minor things. This time was very different though.

Lucas knocked loudly on the trainer's door. It was rather late at night, so he had to be extra loud in case the trainer was asleep. He had been lucky, though. Red was currently in the middle of rubbing down Charizard's scales, as he did every night before bed. It wasn't long before he answered the door.

Red's normally harsh glare softened the moment he saw his blond friend. The frown he wore turned into a little smile. This was the first time that Lucas had ever come to his room so late at night. This was what friends did, right? They had sleep overs and just randomly showed up at one another's houses.

"Lucas? What are you doing here so late at night?" There was a slightly cheerful tone to Red's voice that confused the blond. It should have been clear from the look on his face that he was upset. Wait, no, Lucas had forgotten. Red never looked at anyone's face for fear of looking them in the eyes.

"Cl- Ness kicked me out of the room. We got into a big fight. I was hoping you'd let me stay here." The blond kicked the ground lightly. "I don't have anywhere else to go."

"That's fine. You're always welcome to stay here, as long as you don't mind sharing a bed with me," the trainer replied, his voice still cheerful. "Cause I have three Pokémon with me, they let me have my own room. Problem is that there's only one bed. Looks like we'll be sharing tonight."

Lucas looked to his friend with a little surprise. He wasn't expecting to be allowed into the bed. It had taken him a few weeks to convince "Claus" to share with him. That might have been because they had two beds in their room, though.

Regardless of his surprise, the blond boy followed his taller friend into the room. All three of Red's Pokémon were out. They looked happy to see the blond that made their trainer happy. Well, except Squirtle. The water type had fallen asleep a bit ago and it would take an earthquake to wake her up early.

"Do you want me to stay up and talk with you, or are you tired?" Red asked. He wasn't the fondest of talk, but Lucas was special.

"I think we should just go to bed. …You wouldn't understand it. It's a private matter between my brother and I…" The blond headed over to the big bed, the one for humans and climbed into it.

"Fine, if you don't want to talk. You don't have to." There was a tiny bit of relief in the trainer's voice. "You're part of the team. You're always welcome to talk with me."

The trainer crawled into the bed beside his friend. As soon as he did, Lucas latched to him, much like he had during their adventure together. The taller boy instinctively reached up and stroked the other boy's hair to calm him down.

"I wish you were my Claus instead, sometimes…" Lucas muttered softly. "Then we could come home with me and we could be a family again."

"And I wish you could be my Pokémon so we wouldn't have to be separated again," Red responded. "I'd be your Claus in a moment if you would be my Pokémon."

There was a strange silence between them for a moment. Suddenly, Lucas pulled the other boy closer. He snuggled his face into Red's chest and let out a satisfied sound. The trainer's face flushed red. He hadn't expected such a reaction. Maybe his friend was half asleep.

"I'm so happy… Claus… I'll go with you anywhere. As long as we're together," Lucas replied sleepily. This brought a grin to the trainer's face. No, that was the wrong wording now. He wasn't just the trainer, he was Lucas' trainer.

"Then come back to Mt. Silver with me?" the trainer offered carefully. He could now tell by the other boy's tone that he really was half asleep.

"Sound fun…" That was the last thing that the blond said before he drifted off to sleep. Red was smiling happily, far too excited to sleep. He'd finally caught the fourth member of his team, the human he wanted so badly to be a Pokémon.

It was really was a shame that Lucas had forgotten their entire conversation by dawn.


End file.
